Variable typewriter spacer



June 27, 1950 M. R. CHAMBERS VARIABLE TYPEWRITER SPACER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 11, 1948 IN VEN TOR. M/MTl/V A. CH4MBER$ I 1 IT BY %270W June 27, 1950 M. R. CHAMBERS VARIABLE TYPEWRITER SPACER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 11, 1948 JNVIIZN TOR. MART/N R CHAMBERS BY WW mmw A TTOR/VEVS' Patented June 27, 1950 VARIABLE TYPEWRITER SPACER Martin R. Chambers, Milton, N. C.

Application May 11, 1948, Serial No. 26,403

Claims.

This invention relates to typewriters, and more particularly to means for providing escapement of the carriage of a typewriter to meet the spacing or width requirements of each letter, character, punctuation mark, blank space, or the like, as in ordinary printing.

A prime purpose of the present invention is to provide a typewriter mechanism of particular use in such operations as preparing copy for duplication by stencil or hectograph process, for direct printing, on metal or paper plates, or for photo-offset printing. Heretofore, typewriters have been principally a substitute for writing. The present invention contemplates a machine which is in addition an automatic printer, in that its copy can be used directly for making plates from which books or periodicals may be printed, without the necessity of setting up type.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved spacing mechanism for typewriters whereby letters and characters on the typewritten page may be spaced longitudinally in substantially the same manner as in ordinary printing instead of being spaced by a single standard distance for all letters, characters and spaces as in conventional typewriters.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved spacing mechanism for typewriters wherein variations in the space requirements for difierent letters and characters are taken into consideration, as is done in ordinary printing, and means is provided in the mechanism for giving each letter or character its required space along the printed line of the paper instead of employing a single standardized space as is done in conventiona1 typewriters, whereby the typed page is neater in appearance, more legible and is more economical in the utilization of space on the sheet, than in the case of the typewriters now in current use.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved typewriter spacing mechanism wherein variation of spacing of characters and letters may be obtained as required for the respective letters and characters in the same manner as in printing and wherein provision is made for employing the same mechanism with different styles of type, the arrangement of the mechanism being such that more space is allowed for wide characters, letters and capitals than for narrow letters and for characters of narrow width, and wherein the spacing between words may likewise be regulated as desired.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following dei 22 meshing with rack bar 2|l=.

cross-section, of a portion of the ratchet wheel controlling movement of the carriage of the typewriter of Figure 1 and an adjacent portion of the escapement bar cooperating with said ratchet wheel, the bar being shown in disengaged position with respect to thewheel, as when a key of the typewriter is depressed.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational detail view of the ratchet wheel and escapement bar of the typewriter of Figure 1, showing the Iactuating elements for operating the escapement Figure 6 is a cross-sectional detail view take on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective detail view. of spacing levers employed in the typewriter of Figure 1 in conjunction with the spacer bar thereof.

Referring to the drawings, designates the frame of the typewriter, said frame being conventional in form and having a rear wall portion I2, side walls l3 and M, a front wall portion IS, a bottom wall portion I 6, and a forwardly extending yoke portion ll defining the space for the typewriter keyboard. The platen is designated at l8 and is rotatably mounted on a longitudinally movable carriage |9 which carries a suitable frame to which is secured a longitudinal rack bar 20 rearwardly spaced from the platen I8 and parallel thereto, the teeth of the rack bar 20 being directed forwardly and downwardly, as shown in Figure 2.

Rotatably mounted in the rear portion of the frame I I forwardly of rack bar 20 is a vertical shaft 2| which carries at its top end a bevel gear Secured to the bottom wall I6 of housing around the lower end of shaft 2| is a cylindrical housing 23 containing a spiral spring 24. The inner end of spring 24 is secured to shaft 2| and the outer end thereof is secured to the cylindrical wall of housing 23, whereby the shaft 2| and bevel gear 22 are in Figure'l. when the spring is tensioned. Due to 3 the meshing engagement of bevel gear 22 with rack bar 20, carriage I9 is therefore urged to the left when shaft 2| is released.

Secured to the intermediate portion of shaft 2| is a ratchet wheel 25. Engaging the periphery of ratchet wheel 25 and normally interlocking therewith to hold said wheel against rotation is a ratchet bar 26. Ratchet bar 26 is pivotally secured at its forward end as shown at 21 to a rearwardly projecting arm 28 carried by a longitudinal bar member 29. At the ends. of bar member 29 are arms 34, 34 which are pivotally connected to the type-arm assembly block 42', said arms being connected by springs 30, 30 to rearwardly adjacent lugs 3| projecting inwardly from' theside walls [3 and I4, whereby barmember 29 is biased rearwardly. Rack bar 2 6 is normally by a fiat spring 32 secured to arm 28 andbearing. on bar 26 to urge it counter-clockwise, as viewed in Figure 1. Bar 26 is biased into abutment 'with'rear wall '12 by the axial rearward force exerted thereon by arm 28. Flatspring 32,"in; cooperation with the contour of the teeth on'ratchet'wheel 25' andjra'ck bar 26, permits free manual return of the carriage to the'right.

,Bar 26 has a vertical depending flange 33 formedwith' inwardly extending ratchet teeth 35 which" areopfpositein contour to but the same sizeas the main'ratchet teeth indicated at 35, of the bar. Said main ratchet'teeth 36inormally interlock with the ratchet teeth of wheel 25 and saidwheel is held against counter-clockwise rotation by the abutment of the end of bar member 26againstrearwall l2.

The typewriter keys are -designated at 31, each keybeing carried at theforward end of a lever 38"pivoted'on a longitudinal rod '39 carried by the typewriter frame adjacentthe rear wall l2. Each lever"'38 biased upwardly by a spring! connecting it to an upwardly adjacent portion of the front wall of the'housing. "The position of spring 40 is optional, depending upon the make of the typewriter. Each lever has, an intermediate upwardly projecting arm 4 l to the top :end ofwhichis pivoted in a conventional manner a type -carrying armtfl, Wh enever.a key 31 'is depressed: thecle'ver 38.. thereof is rotated counter- 1 clockwise, as viewed in Figure'fi, and tlie'tylpecarrying arm 42 thereof is rotated clockwise into I striking engagement with thepl'aten l8 byconventionaLmeansfsuch as. the link 42" connected between'j the key lever armI 4 land the type-carrying'- armf 42.

Designated at 43, isa longitudinal bar memberunderlying the keylevers 38', which are all normally disposedin acommon horizontal plane,

said banmember '43 having end arms '44 pivoted otally connected theretoan upstanding arm 50..

Secured beneath the.- forward end of lever -41 is aspring 46 whichjbiases said forwardend upwardly.

Designated at 5| is a bracket member secured torear wall l2 and carrying at its forward end portion aslottedplate element 52 which underlies and is transverse to bar member 26. The slot in said plate element is designated at 53 and the walls of said slot are formed with} longitudinal r ves i -na xtti 51 M s Wedge.

' *gageablewith wedge block 51 to move said'wedge of cam shoulder 54;"which'acts through block 51 correspondingly shorter than-projections. assoblock slidably positioned in slot 53 and rising adjacent the periphery of ratchet wheel 25. A transverse pin 56 passes through the lower portion or block 55 and is slidably engaged in the grooves 54 in the slot walls. Designated at 51 is a second wedge block slidably positioned in said slot 53. A transverse pin 58 passes through the lower portion of block 51 and is slidably engaged in the grooves 55. A spring 59 connects wedge block 55 to wedge block 57 and urges said blocks toward each other. The top end portion of arm projects upwardly through slot 53 and between are shouldered, as shown at 65 and 61, so that the *shoulders cooperate with the top surface of plate element 52:ad-jacent slot 53 to prevent rotation of the wedge blocks around the respective retaining pins 56 -a'nd 58. A spring 62 connects Wedge block -to a pin 63 on plate element 52 and biases said wedge block 55 into engagement with the upper end portion of arm 50.

The upper end portion of arm '56 is formed at its left side, as'viewed in Figure 3, with a cam shoulder M, which is. cooperable withwedge block 55 to move saidwedge block into locking engagement with ratchet wheel 25 responsivetdupward movement of arm 50. Wedge block51 carries at its'rlght hand corner 'portion,-as viewed in Figure-Zia spring 'pressed dog element which is engageable with the ratchet teeth 35 of bar member 26responsive' to'movement of wedge block 51 towardthe right; as viewed in Figure3. The right'side of the upper end portionoi arm '58 is formedwith' a cam shoulder 66, above the position of cam shoulder 64; which isenblock into a positionwherein dog 65 engages ratchet teeth -35'responsive to upward movement of arm 56. The'right" side of arm50"isforme'd with'a second cam'shoulder '61 below the'position tending projections 68 opposing bar member 29 and engageable therewith responsive'to' depression'of the associatedkey. "Belowithejprojections 68' on each arm 4| are additional'projectlon's 65 "ngageab'lefwith the bar membefZS when the associatedjkey depressed with the shiftkey also depressed; asl'whenpapital letters are to be formed. "The, projections '69 extend runner. forwardly than' theproj cations I58 by. the amount corresponding to the proportionate airiount'of additional "spacing required for. capital lettersas 'over'the spacing required for-lower case; letters. Wherefthe projectionsi68' -or 69. are on armsassociated with narrow'lettersor with relatively narrowcharacters, the projectionsare ciated with letters for. characters of. medium width. As willbe explainedinfurther detail, 'the'function of these projections. istomove thelbarrmemher 2 9 forwardly by" a predetermined amount each time a key is'struck, the'forward movement of said bar' member being. communicated to the ratchetbarTZSQvvhiCh, aswill presently, beldescribed, becomes disengaged; from ratchet wheel 25 prior to itsv forward movement, and on its return ;movemen tbecomes-again engaged with said ratchet wheel, and is allowed to; return while engaged therewith, intoabutrnent with the rearwall l2. The rotation ofratchet, wheel 25 allowed by-the returnmovemen't-otratchetrbar' 26 produces the desired longitudinal'movement'of the typewriter carriage corresponding to'the required letter or character spacing When a key is struck; its lever 38 depresses bar member 43, which rotates lever. 4! counterclockwise, as viewed in Figure 2. Arm 50 moves upwardly first. bringing cam shoulder v66 into abutment with wedge block 5.! and moving said wedge block to the right, as viewed in Figure 3, so that dog member 65 becomes engagedwith the ratchet teeth 35 of ratchetbar 26..:,.Cam shoulder 64 then engages wedge block 55 and moves block 55 to the left into'locking engagemerit with ratchet wheel 25. Cam 61 then en-, gages wedge block 5'! and exerts sufficient force thereon to move ratchet bar 26 laterallyso that its main ratchet teeth. 36disengagefrom the teeth of ratchet wheel 25.-

The projection 68 (or projection 69, if the shift key of the typewriter is depressedicarried on the arm 4| of the activated key lever then pushes bar member 29 forwardly forthe distance corresponding to the length of the projection, drawing ratchet bar. 26 forwardly a similar dis-. tance, the dog member 65 yielding in this direction of movement of said ratchet bar. The type bar 42 strikes the, platen .IB and arm 56 begins its descent to normal position. Cam shoulder. 61 first movesdownwardly to release wedge block 51 sufficiently. to allow spring 32 to return ratchet bar 26 to a position wherein its main ratchet teeth 36 again engagetheteeth of ratchet wheel 25. Cam shoulder 64 then moves downwardly to release wedge block 55 and to allow it to disengage from the ratchet wheel under the biasing force of spring 62. Finally, cam shoulder 66 moves downwardly and releases wedge block 51, whereby the dog member 65 disengages from the ratchet teeth 35 of ratchet bar 26, allowing the spiral spring 24 to rotate shaft 2| and ratchet wheel 25 counter-clockwise, as viewed in-Figure 1, until ratchet bar 26 is moved rearwardly into abutment with rear wall l2. This moves the carriage of the typewriter longitudinally through the desired spacing distance.

Designated at Ill, ll and 12 are spacer bars, carried on respective levers 13, 14 and I5 pivoted to the typewriter frame at rod 39. The spacer bar levers have vertical arms 16, each arm carrying a projection 11 engageable with the bar member 29 responsive to the depression of a spacer bar. The projections 11 are of different lengths, corresponding to different desired spacing distances. Thus the intermediate spacer bar H may provide a medium spacing distance, the spacer bar Ill may provide double said medium spacing distance, the spacer bar 12 may provide half said medium spacing distance. By actuating suitable spacer bars, it is thus possible to employ any one of the three available opening spacing distances on the printed line. The spacer levers I3, 14 and 15 normally overlie the bar member 43 in the same plane as the key levers 38.

Projections 68, 69 and 11 are proportioned in length in accordance with the circumferential length of the teeth of ratchet wheel 25. The engagement of a projection 68 with bar member 29 allows wheel 25 to rotate through the arc subtended by one tooth thereof, whereas the engagement of a projection 69 or H allows the wheel 25 to rotate through an arc subtended by a multiple number of teeth thereof.

Although the mechanism described in the foregoing will provide the required variation in spacmechanism will also operate to. provide the same proportionate spacing where a diiierentsize of type is substituted for the original size. Thus, if a smaller. size of typeisrsubstituted for. the original type :of the machine of Figure 1, the bevel, gear 22 replaced by a proportionately smaller .bevel gear'having the same size gear teeth. The rack bar 20 is unfastenedfrom its original-position and secured in a new position closerto the platen and in meshing engagement with the-new bevel gear, as at openings 18 provided inthe rack bar supporting frame.

.The above'described specific embodiment of the invention has been applied to a typewriter wherein the type-arm assembly block is shifted downwardly when capitals are to be printed. In the case of a typewriter wherein the platen is shifted upwardly to print capitals, a suitable connection of bar member 29 to the platen is provided instead of connecting said bar member to the type-arm assembly block 42' of the typewritenwhereby the bar member will be raised or placed on theinvention except as defined by the.

scope of the appended claims.

. What is claimed is:

l.-In a-typewriter, a frame, a carriage supported; for-longitudinalmovement on-said. frame, a platen rotatably supported on said carriage, a

plurality of key levers pivoted to said frame for rotation in transverse vertical planes, forwardly extending projections carried by said levers, said projections varying in length, a longitudinal bar member resiliently secured to said frame forwardly adjacent said projections, rotary means biasing the carriage longitudinally, releasable locking means engaging said biasing means and movable with said bar member, and means actuated by the depression of a key lever for moving said locking means out of engagement with said biasing means, holding the biasing means against movement, and returning the locking means into engagement with the biasing means in a predetermined forwardly advanced position.

2. In a typewriter, a frame, a carriage supported for longitudinal movement on said frame, a platen rotatably supported on said carriage, a plurality of key levers pivoted to said frame for rotation in transverse vertical planes, forwardly extending projections carried by said levers, said projections varying in length, a longitudinal bar member resiliently secured to said frame forwardly adjacent said projections, rotary biasing means urging the carriage longitudinally and including a toothed disc member, an escapement bar movably connected to said bar member and normally engaging with said disc member, and means actuated by the depression of a key lever for moving said escapement bar out of engagement with said disc member while holding the disc member stationary, and returning ing for one particular size of type, the same 7 the escapement bar into engagement with said 7 disc member in a forwardly advarrcediposition determined by ithe length of the projectiorr carried ion the depressed key lever.

3. In a typewritenaa :frame, =a carriagexsupported for longitudinalmovemenb on said frame, a platen rotatably supported on said carriage,- a plurality of levers-pivotedto said frame TOE- 111)- tation-"in--=transverse vertical: planes; 1 iorwardly extending projections carried by said levers, said projections varying in-length; a longitudinal bar member movably secured tosaid irame forwardly adjacent #said projections; spring means biasing thebar member rearwardly, rotary biasing means urging-the carriagelongitudinally, a-toothed disc member 7 carried by said rotary biasing means, an escapement bar movably. connected -120-S3id bar member and normally interlocking with said discmemben, stop means-limiting rearward movement-ofsaid escapement bargand means-actuated bYthB CIGIJI-GSSiOHEOf anyone of said levers for moving the escapement bar out of engagement with the "-disc member while holding the disc member 'stationary, and returning the escapementrbarinto'interlocking engagement with said disc member in a forwardly advanced position-detel-mined by the length of the projectioncarried on-the lever.

4. In a typewriter, a frame a carriage supported-forlongitudinal movement on'sa'id frame, a-platen'rotatably supported on said carriagepa plurality of levers pivoted to said frame for "-rotation in transverse vertical planes, forwardly extending-projections carried by said levers, said projections varying inlength, a longitudinal bar member movably-secured to said 'frameforwardly adjacent saidprojections, spring means biasing said bar member rearwardly, rotary biasing means urging the carriage --long'itudinally, a toothed disc member carried'bysaicl rotary biasing means, :an escapement bar pivotally connected to saidlbanmember, spring means biasing said escapement :bar into interlocking engagement withrzthemeriphery ofsiisaid disc: member, stop means limiting-zrearward axial movement of said escapement bars-and means :factuated by. the "depressionzofranyione of said :levers for sequentially lockingdzhe disc member; moving the escapement barsnut :ofsengagement ..-.with said: disc member, returningdahesescapement bar in a forwardly .advanced'wposition into interlocking engagement withesaid zdiscemember, and then unlocking the discmremberl .lfifiln a typewriter airame, a carriage supported for: longitudinalzzmovement ion said frame, a platenliotatably supported on said carriage, a plurality: of levers pivoted. to said frame, means biasingirthefievers;:upwardly, projections carried byrsaizi leverslsaid projections 'varyingin length, azdongitudinals'bar member resiliently secured to said frame adjacent said projections, rotary biasing means'nrging said carriage longitudinally, as: ratchet idiscs carried by said i rotary. biasing meansasratchet bar pivo't'ally connected to said ban -member; spring means biasing said ratchet barrlinto cngagement with said ratchet disc, and movablexcam. means actuated responsive to'the depression of. anyone of said levers and its subsequent .retum tou-normal: position for sequentiallylocking ithe ratchet disc, moving the ratchet barlout ofrengagement therewith, returningthe:ratchetibarfintoengagementwith the disc inaanadvancedspositiomand then unlocking the disc.

I MARTIN R. CHAMBERS.

" REFERENCES CIT-ED 'The'iollowing-references are of record in th file of this patent:

l UNITED .STATES PATENTS 2,312,6L9' -Webb: Mar. 27, 1945 

